MPN Fact Check: US obtains low percentage of oil from Middle East

In tonight's debate between Republican Congressman Kenny Hulshof and State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, Hulshof reiterated a common talking point from ethanol proponents.

"Instead of looking to the Mid-East for our energy needs," Hulshof, a corn farmer, said during the debate, "why aren't we looking to the Midwest?"

The issue of course arises because Steelman has made a repeal of the state ethanol mandate one of the cornerstone's of her campaign.

In the interest of truth, here's another MPN Fact Check.

Claim: The US is reliant on mostly oil from the Middle East.

Fact: A total of 40 percent of the US's oil consumption comes from production within the states. An additional 29 percent comes from other Western countries such as Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom. Only 10 percent of the US's oil comes from the Middle East, far from the majority that some ethanol proponents would have us believe.

Is it Mid-East oil we are reducing our dependence on? Or is the oil coming from the unstable socialist country of Norway? Does anyone consider the Canadians a threat to the US's national security?

The talk of dependence on oil often erroneously targets the Middle East. In fact, this was even one of the strategies employed by proponents of Missouri's ethanol mandate back in 2006. Remember these billboards (right) from the Missouri Corngrowers Association?

It's a fact, just 10 percent of the US's oil comes from the Middle East. At least that's what data from the Energy Information Administration says. Not a majority; not even all that much.

Why target the Middle East in the talking point? We know the answer and so do you (just think about it).

Then again - 10 percent is the same amount of ethanol we're now required to mix into our gasoline in Missouri. Maybe it's just a magic number.